A variety of techniques could be employed if you are really gunning for a "juicy" story, particularly if you have a certain amount of journalistic latitude as a semi-tabloid. I'll spin you a scenario on how something like that might happen:

It's possible that we might not even be seeing the interview in its entirety. The interviewer might ask the same baited question multiple times, rephrasing it a bit each time, until the athlete is either worn down so that she will follow the inquiry where the interviewer wishes to lead, or is trapped by an unfiltered moment into saying something they would not normally say. The non-compliant questions are then excised, and the interview is edited to give the impression of naturalistic continuity.

These types of techniques would, I would surmise, work best with young athletes who have just hit the big time, who have just won something significant and are therefore in a chuffed and chatty mood, but whose expansiveness is not matched by any significant experience in handling wily media types.

Someone like...well, yes, like Pogo, as a matter of fact.

Jes' sayin'...

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IOW, she may have been tricked into saying this, something she wouldn't normally reveal, riding her high after the CoC victory. Sure. But does it make what she said any less true? I don't know. I am sure whoever is reading this thread and will be watching live at the next competition with Sotnikova, will have their eyes peeled at practices. Please report back!

For some reason after reading all this, I'm finding myself hoping more and more that Tuktamysheva will pull it together and start kicking azz and taking no prisoners at her next GP and Russian Nationals.

One week we have an interview where Elena Radionova says how great Adelina is, the following week we have an interview in which Anna says what 'saboteur' (in your words) Adelina is...

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When I watched the video interview yesterday before reading Anna's interview, I got a distinct feeling that Adelina was very guarded in her comments on Elena. I wouldn't say Adelina is a "saboteur," but something about her answers seemed strange, too reserved.

I wouldn't be surprised, since Tarasova has a lot of power and influence there.

We've been warned repeatedly that the tabloids/yellow press will make up quotes, aside from bending comments and taking them out of context. Foe example, Pogorilaya might have been asked what it's like to share warm-up ice. She could havge said something like, "Adelina concentrates on her skate, and you have to watch out for her more than the others," or "Adelina.is.very fast during .the warmup and uses a lot nof nthe ice, and we have to learn to adjust to each others' warm-up rhythms" while being quoted as saying, "Adelina is a thug during the warm-up."

Anna: Of course, it affects you a little when nobody expects anything from you. It's good in terms that no one bothers you or puts any pressure on you. But it's a little disappointing.

Q: That was what made you angry before Cup of China, wasn't it?

Anna: Not angry, just disturbed a little.

Q: Listen, but now there will be expectations regarding you...

Anna: Yes, I think there will be.

Q: Heading to the Olympics in Sochi...

Anna: Yes.

Q: Tell us, what do you think you need to do to get to Sochi?

Anna: Continue training at the same pace, not slowing down.

Q: Listen, there is another young, outstanding Russian young girl training on the same ice rink, Julia Lipnitskaya, now we have many of them, that's great, of course. What would you like to learn from Julia?

Anna: Consistency. Consistency in jumps. She was very consistent last season, and the year before that. It is amazing. And, of course, Carolina Kostner's stroking. I like it very much. So soft, really touching.

Q: What did it feel like, to beat Carolina Kostner?

Anna: Well, she... let's say, I didn't beat her, she just skated poorly. I think, if she skated cleanly, there wouldn't be anything like that.

Q: So humble, yeah?

Anna: Yes.

Q: You already told me that you have great plans, dream of Olympics, but who do you think is the most likely team candidate, there are just two spots, so many talented skaters...

^Sorry to go OT, but yes I've heard a few things about Suguri. It seems she and Arakawa were NOT friends There was that video of a domestic competition a few months back, where during the presentation ceremony it seemed Fumie made a point of not acknowledging certain skaters.

I saw the final goup's 6 minutes official practice for the free program on IN. And get Pogo was never followed by Sot nor gave up her jumps because of Sot's movements. She did all her jumps she wanted. And she crossed Haruka's course for her jump. Sot once turned around along the board to go for her jump and was maybe in the sight of Kanako's and Pogo's, but that might be allowable case and they nailed their jumps. Guys, you go and see by yourselves. Russian yellow paper wants us to call her Queen Pogo? Should everyone just go around along the board and keep wide space empty for the Queen? Oh Queen, forgive Sot since she was nervous and too focused on her practice. Sot is a sweetheart out of the rink.

I have to say that I did like Anna as a person (not as a skater yet because she is not quite polished yet, although she is better than last year) and I really wished her the best. Reading the complaining about Adelina turned me off Anna though. Now I do hope she won't qualify for neither Europeans, Olympics or Worlds this year.

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What does her character have to do with her being an athlete and competing where she earns to go?

I like Pogorilaya's interviews. Candid, and she seems quite smart. Re: Adelina, though, I have no comment, because: "psych" at practices does not seem so unusual ( I've certainly heard of it before), and there are too many things to untangle to get to the truth, re: journalists, different coaches and rivalries, real vs imaginary. So far Anna is in " extremely promising" category for me, on ice and in her interviews.

It wouldn't surprise me if Pogo is a bit intimidated by Adelina and is perhaps projecting her feelings onto Adelina's basically innocent actions. She feels stalked by Adelina in practice, but that's just because she's hyperaware of where Adelina is at all times.

I saw the final goup's 6 minutes official practice for the free program on IN. And get Pogo was never followed by Sot nor gave up her jumps because of Sot's movements. She did all her jumps she wanted. And she crossed Haruka's course for her jump. Sot once turned around along the board to go for her jump and was maybe in the sight of Kanako's and Pogo's, but that might be allowable case and they nailed their jumps. Guys, you go and see by yourselves. Russian yellow paper wants us to call her Queen Pogo? Should everyone just go around along the board and keep wide space empty for the Queen? Oh Queen, forgive Sot since she was nervous and too focused on her practice. Sot is a sweetheart out of the rink.

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She is probably talking about official practices not 6 minutes warm up. I remember one time Virtue/Moir aborted a lift at practice, because some russian team skating too close.

It's sad how a few words can cause people to do a 180 on their perception of a skater. This is how rumors/controversy/rivalries get stirred up in the media...and sadly, it seems like a number of people here have jumped aboard the tabloid train and now think Adelina is a mean and dirty competitor.

Given the fact that this is a tabloid, I'm fairly certain a lot of what Anna said was taken out of context or she was baited into saying something that was twisted around to sound like she was calling Adelina a mean ice hog who will pretend as though you aren't there and get in your way whenever you try to warm up. Like someone said, take tabloid reporting with 1/2 a grain of salt. There's usually a grain of truth in there somewhere but by the time it's done being twisted and reworked, it doesn't even resemble the truth. Anna was very complimentary of Adelina in the first interview saying she did well in the SP but was under a lot of pressure to deliver in the FS. The second interview had a completely different tone to it...like she was accusing Adelina of intimidation and bitchiness...I don't buy it.

People are going to believe what they want to believe. If you already don't like Adelina then that interview just gave you more fuel to add to the fire, so now you have another reason not to like her. Personally, I feel no different b/c I put very little stock in what is reported in tabloid rag magazines...

As for Anna (in the first interview), I really liked her take on winning COC. She is very self-aware and knows where she stands in the grand scheme of things as well as in Russia. She's improved this season (she was very boring on the JGP last year) and I think as she continues to improve she could be a real factor in the coming years. As of right now she does have the technical content but her lack of PCS is a problem. Yes, she won COC but the fact she skated almost perfectly with all of those triples and 3-3s and didn't crack 180 is telling. She has a long way to go before she's ready to compete among the top names.

But with her attitude and her drive to be better, I think she's well on her way.

I very much enjoyed the interview. It's interesting that Adelina is regarded as a competitor for that coveted second spot, while Julia is some distant goal to be admired, much like Carolina Kostner. How the relative standings of these Russian ladies have changed this season! (not that I disagree).

I think in the first interview she was really just overjoyed at how well she did. By the second interview, it has sunk in that the 2nd spot at Sochi might actually be attainable, and Adelina is one of her main rivals for it. I think this is human nature, for Adelina and Anna to see each other as rivals, I'm glad to hear Anna talk so candidly about this.

Does it say explicitly that the interview is an exact transcript of what she said in its entirety? Perhaps she said more off camera and the video is just a snippet or even an addition to the interview?

I think, actually, that that excerpt about Adelina was meant more like "an athlete's mentality", like someone (Rodnina, I think, but I'm not sure) used to say that when you go on the ice, you have to kill the competition, and you better do it already in practice. Adelina herself has said in the interview that when she started training in Buyanova's group, at first she was scared to be on the same ice with the rest of the group, because they skated with such speed and power that she was afraid she'd get killed, and for a while she tried to stick closer to boards. Here is it: http://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2012-11-08/8_5/

Does it say explicitly that the interview is an exact transcript of what she said in its entirety? Perhaps she said more off camera and the video is just a snippet or even an addition to the interview?

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The questions in the video and in the interview are the same, the answers are different.

Yes, those were charged questions and Anna seems to be refreshingly unscripted.

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Refreshingly unscripted, or cunningly manipulating? Do you know Anna personally to be sure whether she was honest or whether she used the interview to turn people from being a fan to her competitor? Did you personally noticed Adelina doing anything wrong? You have already called her saboteur! I would say, innocent until proven guilty, whether you made up your mind without knowing facts. The fact that someone won god medal does not mean that they can't possibly be manipulating, no matter what their age is.

What does her character have to do with her being an athlete and competing where she earns to go?

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I used to like not her skating style, but her will to land anything. When I wrote her character, I meant the competitive spirit. For example, last season when she missed her chance for combination, she put it after another jump, although that meant that she did very difficult triple-triple combination nearly at the end of the 4 min program. That's a fighter. Not everyone would risk it, or they would do triple-double.

But bitching about competitor to a newspaper, that in my view says a lot about her character. As I said, it completely turned me off her.

But bitching about competitor to a newspaper, that in my view says a lot about her character. As I said, it completely turned me off her.

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I don't have much experience with Russian tabloids, but Romanian ones have been known to try and create skandals or manufacture rivalries whenever possible. They've even gone on to publish articles a few days after breaking a big SKANDAL story, explaining some part of the press has tried to exaggerate facts. We, however, have the real story for you.

Am still not convinced that interview is an accurate reflection of what she said.

I don't have much experience with Russian tabloids, but Romanian ones have been known to try and create skandals or manufacture rivalries whenever possible. They've even gone on to publish articles a few days after breaking a big SKANDAL story, explaining some part of the press has tried to exaggerate facts. We, however, have the real story for you.

Am still not convinced that interview is an accurate reflection of what she said.

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Is it! so how come that it doesn't match with the video? the question match and the answer don't? I can see how accurate it is! We had Russian language compulsory at school for 5 years!